May 22, 2006
NORMAL, Ill. -
Despite a disappointing 20-33 finish to the regular season for the Illinois State baseball team, several players had tremendous individual years. On Monday, Ryan Anetsberger, Jesse Griswold, Kevin Dubler, Matt Bolt and Kris Jenkins were each recognized by head coaches in the Missouri Valley Conference for their outstanding seasons and were named to Valley's all-conference squad.
ISU head coach Jim Brownlee was impressed, but not surprised, with the selections.
"Even though our record may not show it, this type of recognition for our players shows that we had a pretty good team," said Brownlee. "Any time your players can make an impression on the other coaches in the league enough for them to put their name on the ballot, they must be playing well. We had some solid individual performances and each of these players truly deserves this type of recognition."
Anetsberger was a second-team selection at third base after posting a .379 batting average in Valley games and finishing the season with a .327 mark overall. The sophomore from Wheaton, Ill., led the Redbirds in hits (67), triples (3), total bases (88) and at bats (205) while starting in all 53 games for ISU.
Four other Redbirds were tabbed as honorable mention selections by the league's head coaches, meaning they received at least two all-conference votes. Bolt, a 2005 All-Valley First Team selection, struggled at the beginning of his junior season, but finished the season strong and was recognized along with senior Kris Jenkins as honorable mention selections in the outfield. Junior transfer Jesse Griswold was recognized for his performance at second base after posting a .299 average in his first season with the Redbirds and freshman Kevin Dubler rounds out the group at catcher after starting 45 games behind the plate for the `Birds.
All of this year's selections, except Jenkins, should return next season and that leads Brownlee to believe his team is in good shape for 2007.
"With four of these position players coming back and the addition of some quality recruits, I am really looking forward to having a great 2007 season," said Brownlee. "The talent and experience these players will bring to next year's team will be invaluable to helping the new recruits become acclimated to school and should really help us build solid team chemistry."
